On the picture Ms. Retno Marsudi, Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
18-21 August 2015, San José, Republic of Costa Rica: The Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) is an association of 36 countries from East Asia and Latin America.
The meeting had the theme of “Two Regions, One Vision”, drew the participation of 35 out of 36 member countries, comprising 16 East Asian countries and 19 Latin American states. The “FMM 7” focused on discussing orientations, initiatives, and measures to cement the forum’s institutions and organisation as well as to improve the effective cooperation within the forum in the near future.
The meeting adopted the San José Statement and reports of the forum’s 16th Senior Officials Meeting and working groups.Besides specific cooperation, the San José Statement emphasised that activities and cooperation within the Forum are implemented on the basis of international law and established international principles.
Amongst the prominent participants were Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (who until January 2015 headed her country’s embassy in Den Haag). The Bruneian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, used the meeting for several bilateral tête-à-têtes with Latin American leaders such as the Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís.
President Solís said: the region, covered by FEALAC, is important as it makes up a third of the world’s area, 40 percent of the world’s population, 33 percent of the volume of the world’s trade and 35 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, Solis said.
China’s Special Representative for Latin American Issues Yin Hengmin voiced China’s support to practical cooperation among the 36 member countries of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hà Kim Ngọc who was accompanied by former Vietnamese ambassador to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg, HE Phạm Sanh Châu. On the occasion, Ngọc also invited countries to send delegations to attend the seventh Hue Festival within the “East Asia – Latin America Cultural Exchange via Hue Festival” project.
Ngọc also invited mayors and governors of cultural heritage cities from member countries of the FEALAC to attend the first meeting of the “Network of FEALAC cultural cities” project, which is initiated and hosted by Vietnam in Hue city at the end of April, 2016.
On multilateral cooperation, all countries affirmed their intention to tighten cooperation with Vietnam at international organisations, especially at the United Nations and support Vietnam’s bids for a position in the United Nations Security Council in the 2020-2021 term, the UN Economic and Social Council for 2016-2018 and the executive board of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for 2015-2019.
Thailand and Costa Rica have been sharing the presidency of FEALAC since 2013. The FMM 8 will take place in the Republic of Korea in 2017.
This was the first time the meeting was held in Central America.
For more information:
FEALAC: www.fealac.org/about/EastAsia.jsp
Ambassador Phạm Sanh Châu: https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BA%A1m_Sanh_Ch%C3%A2u
